ReactOwners are capable of storing references to owned components.

All components are capable of //being// referenced by owner components, but only ReactOwner components are capable of //referencing// owned components. The named reference is known as a "ref".

Refs are available when mounted and updated during reconciliation.

var MyComponent = React.createClass({ render: function() { return (

); }, handleClick: function() { this.refs.custom.handleClick(); }, componentDidMount: function() { this.refs.custom.initialize(); } });

Refs should rarely be used. When refs are used, they should only be done to control data that is not handled by React's data flow.